Fun-filled week in Houston: Nature, festivals, races, family night and more

Houston is hosting several events this week: Festivals, canoe and kayak races and more!

Wednesday, Sept. 29

Learn about Aztec through the Danza Azteca Splendor! at Miller Outdoor Theatre on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Young Audiences of Houston presents Danza Azteca Splendor in a morning performance as the Calmecac Indigenous Organization takes the stage to perform traditional Aztec dancing based on pre-Columbian traditions of the Nahuatl-speaking Teotihuacanos/Mexica and other indigenous nations of central Mexico, including the Otomo/Chichimeca nations of Queretaro. Wearing masks is strongly encouraged for those who would want to watch this free event.

Braeswood Farmers Market in Southwest Houston will sell fresh produce and prepared foods from 1 to 5 p.m. There would also be food trucks at the market, located at 8620 Stella Link Road.

Thursday, Sept. 30

Be one with nature during the Mindful Mornings at Houston Arboretum & Nature Center from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 4501 Woodway Drive. Instructors will provide mindfulness lessons in nature inspired by the “forest bathing” movements in South Korea and Japan. Each session will take place mostly outdoors, rain or shine.

There would be a Free Family Night Thursday in celebration of the National Literacy Month Book Giveaway at Children’s Museum Houston. Free books will be given to kids in pre-K to 5th grade at 1500 Binz Street Houston sponsored by the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation and Philips 66 while supplies last. For more information and Play Safe guidelines, visit www.cmhouston.org or call (713) 522-1138.

Come and join the celebration of Latinx Heritage Month with Citizen Illegal: An Evening with Poet José Olivarez at Holocaust Museum Houston. A special reading is to be performed by Olivarez himself. Citizen Illegal has been recognized as a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Award. It was also acclaimed as a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize and named a top book of 2018 by The Adroit Journal, NPR and the New York Public Library. The show will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 1

Experience drive-thru food service, silent auction, outdoor seating, selection of Polish beer and an abridged performance program (dance performance and live music) at the reformatted Houston Polish Harvest Festival at Polish Roman Catholic Church Our Lady of Czestochowa in 1731 Blalock Rd. It will be a four-hour celebration on Friday starting at 4 p.m. It will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 2, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 3.

Uchi Houston is 904 Westheimer Rd is celebrating World Sake Day from 4 to 11 p.m. offering two options of guided sake tastings: the Nigori flight ($15), featuring a lighty and fruit Takara “Sho Chiku Bai,” the almond-kissed Hitorimusume, and sweet and sour Gozenshu; or the Premium Junmai ($25), with a sweet and bold Imayotsukasa “Ima,” crisp and dry Brooklyn Kura “Number Fourteen,” and semi-sweet Wakatake Onikoroshi “Demon Slayer.”

Saturday, Oct. 2

The 49th Annual Buffalo Bayou Partnership Regatta will happen on Saturday, Oct. 2, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Online registration closes on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 11:59 pm CST. The starting line will be at 7700 San Felipe (1/4 mile west of Voss) and the finish line and awarding ceremony at Allen’s Landing, 1001 Commerce Street. Click here for further information and rules.